The present invention relates generally to power line networking techniques. More particularly, the invention provides an apparatus for a repeater in a high speed power line network. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied in a local area network environment, where the range of power line communication network is extended through the use of repeaters, but it would be recognized that other applications exist. The invention can also be applied to building area networking, home networking, office networking, apartments, any combination of these, and other networking applications.
With the advent of computer and network technologies, telecommunication techniques in the recent years have quickly developed. Among others, data communication has become a necessity for the lives of many people. People use data telecommunication networks for a variety of applications, such as the Internet, file transfer, emails, and more recently, media contents.
Many types of network architectures are currently being used, and more often than not, a network often consists of different network architectures. In recent year, power line communication networks have been gaining popularity. Using existing power lines, power line networks are often cheaper to implement than other types of networks, as no dedicated network cable is required. Typically, power line networks are deployed as a part of a local area network. Sometimes, power line networks are implemented in conjunction with wireless networks, thereby improving performance and reliability.
One of the challenges to using power line communication networks has been the limited range of certain types of power line network signals. To address this problem, various types of conventional repeaters have been developed for power line networks. Unfortunately, these conventional repeaters are often inadequate.
Therefore, improved system and method for power line network repeater is desired.